Key Takeaways
- • Chancellor John Healey said he wants to resolve the release of the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme (MPS) Guarantor's Fund, thought to be worth about £1.2 billion, "in weeks, not months," telling the Commons on Tuesday that "work is under way."
- • MPS trustees, chaired by Gary Saunders, called for "action within days," saying an agreement with the Government is "ready to sign today" and would allow payments to members to begin by the end of this year.
- • Healey's Budget ended the 50-50 surplus split, so MPS members can now use all future scheme surpluses to increase their pensions; Labour MPs are pressing for the release of undistributed surplus funds.
- • Trustees say around 100 members die every week, and the scheme's closure to new members dates to the 1994 privatisation of the British Coal Board.
- • Work to resolve the matter is being led jointly by Desnz (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero) and the Treasury.
Summary
Chancellor John Healey has said he would like to strike a deal to release more than £1 billion held in the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme (MPS) Guarantor's Fund, telling the Commons on Tuesday that the matter could be resolved "in weeks, not months" and that "work is under way." The fund, thought to be worth £1.2 billion according to the source report, sits within the MPS, which closed to new members when the British Coal Board was privatised in 1994. The Government at the time promised the value of the fund would not decrease, but only half of any investment surplus would go towards pension bonuses, with the remaining half retained by the Government.
At last week's Budget, Healey announced an end to the 50-50 split, meaning MPS members will be able to use all surpluses generated by their schemes' performance to increase future pensions. Labour MPs have nonetheless called for the release of undistributed surplus funds, which they say belong to former miners. Imogen Walker, Labour MP for Hamilton and Clyde Valley, asked when an update on the remaining funds could be expected. Healey responded that the full transfer of the Guarantor's Fund would be ensured and that the work would be carried out jointly by Desnz and the Treasury.
Gary Saunders, chairman of the MPS trustees, welcomed the Chancellor's commitment but said members "need action within days." He said 100 members die every week and that the trustees had worked with the Government in good faith throughout the year, with an agreement ready to sign that day. Signing would allow payments to begin by the end of the year. Backbench pressure had built in a Commons Budget debate on Monday, where Linsey Farnsworth, MP for Amber Valley, said she feared her father, a former miner, may die before receiving the surplus, and cited estimates that around 19 former miners die every day. Samantha Niblett, MP for South Derbyshire, said she would donate her next annual parliamentary salary increase to charity until miners and their families receive what they are owed.
At last week's Budget, Healey announced an end to the 50-50 split, meaning MPS members will be able to use all surpluses generated by their schemes' performance to increase future pensions. Labour MPs have nonetheless called for the release of undistributed surplus funds, which they say belong to former miners. Imogen Walker, Labour MP for Hamilton and Clyde Valley, asked when an update on the remaining funds could be expected. Healey responded that the full transfer of the Guarantor's Fund would be ensured and that the work would be carried out jointly by Desnz and the Treasury.
Gary Saunders, chairman of the MPS trustees, welcomed the Chancellor's commitment but said members "need action within days." He said 100 members die every week and that the trustees had worked with the Government in good faith throughout the year, with an agreement ready to sign that day. Signing would allow payments to begin by the end of the year. Backbench pressure had built in a Commons Budget debate on Monday, where Linsey Farnsworth, MP for Amber Valley, said she feared her father, a former miner, may die before receiving the surplus, and cited estimates that around 19 former miners die every day. Samantha Niblett, MP for South Derbyshire, said she would donate her next annual parliamentary salary increase to charity until miners and their families receive what they are owed.
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